Darkness Lives
by BlackFox12
Summary: While he's frozen, Zhane's spirit detaches itself from his body and enters a haunted house on Earth, where he has to fight for higher stakes than his life
1. Cryogenic Visions

**Darkness Lives**

**Chapter One: Cryogenic Visions**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Power Rangers in Space, and I'm not making any money from this fic

**Summary:** While he's frozen, Zhane's spirit detaches itself from his body and enters a haunted house on Earth, where he has to fight for higher stakes than his life

**Warning(s):** Violence; spoilers; some swearing; spanking in later chapters

* * *

Zhane didn't know how long it was before he finally found himself becoming aware of the fact that he still lived. For a while, he'd thought that he was dead – but despite the vague sense of unreality, he should be so lucky.

The silver ranger was standing next to the cryogenic chamber. He had the vague memory of Andros dragging him into it after the major battle and he'd been injured, but he couldn't remember anything after that. A part of Zhane really wanted to look into the chamber; but he figured he didn't need to check. If he was actually awake, he would have remembered waking up. More to the point, Andros – if he still lived – would be there with him.

Zhane pinched his upper arm hard, and grunted at the sharp pain. He couldn't be having a normal dream. If he was, he wouldn't have felt it when he'd pinched himself. Had his spirit left his body somehow?

Astral projection... It was something that Zhane had heard of before, but never experienced. Like his best friend, Zhane had some minor telekinetic abilities; but this was so far beyond what any of them had experienced.

It took Zhane a few tries, but he finally worked out how to move his feet in this form. He left the cryogenic chamber, and made his way to the bridge. Not finding Andros there, he continued on to the battle simulator – and stopped when he saw the red ranger battling fiercely against a large group of monsters.

Man... Zhane had always thought _he_ was the one who took the battle simulations too far. It seemed that Andros was badly affected by what had happened; and that came close to scaring Zhane. Andros was always supposed to be the calm, logical one. He shouldn't be losing control like this, even in a battle simulation.

Reaching out, Zhane really wanted to bang on the door and make Andros see him. He wanted his friend to realise that Zhane was still alive, and to stop blaming himself like the silver ranger knew he was doing. But just as his fist would have met the door, the interior of the megaship rippled.

Slowly, Zhane lowered his hand. He looked around, frowning, as he struggled to make sense of what was going on.

It happened again. Zhane felt suddenly dizzy and nauseas, as if the prolonged absence of his spirit from his body was affecting him badly. He stumbled, and fell to his knees, as his legs refused to support him any longer. All around him, the ship was spinning; and every time Zhane looked up, he seemed to see the ruins of an old house fighting to occupy the same space as the astro megaship.

Finally unable to hold on any longer, Zhane fell unconscious.


	2. Misplaced

**Darkness Lives**

**Chapter Two: Misplaced**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Power Rangers in Space, and I'm not making any money from this fic

**Summary:** While he's frozen, Zhane's spirit detaches itself from his body and enters a haunted house on Earth, where he has to fight for higher stakes than his life

**Warning(s):** Violence; spoilers; some swearing; spanking in later chapters

* * *

When Zhane finally regained consciousness again, the first thing he noticed was that his head was pounding viciously. The second one was that he was lying on a hard, rough floor that scraped his cheek and didn't feel anything like the floor of the megaship.

Opening his eyes was one of the last things Zhane wanted to do, since he was still feeling dizzy and sick. Could he actually throw up while his spirit was out of his body? It wasn't really a theory he wanted to test out; but he couldn't just lie on the floor for all day... or week, since he was feeling bad enough for that to be a distinct possibility.

Still keeping his eyes closed, Zhane placed his hands on the floor and slowly pushed himself up onto his knees. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the possibility that he was going to be somewhere he didn't expect to be; but when he opened his eyes, he was still taken by surprise.

It was difficult to make out anything – but from what Zhane could see, he seemed to be inside a house. He scratched the back of his neck as he looked around, squinting to try and make out any details. But without any kind of light, he had to wait for his eyes to adjust to the dark.

Slowly, Zhane pushed himself to his feet. He seemed to be in some kind of hallway, and there were several steps leading up to a slightly higher section which contained a folding screen. When he looked around, Zhane could see what appeared to be cages either side of him – but he honestly couldn't tell if anything was behind them or not. When he stepped closer, he could see a white sheet with what seemed to be something under it. But there was no discernable way of getting into the cage.

Zhane glanced down at his wrist, and was somewhat relieved to see that his morpher was still attached to it. However, he wasn't in his ranger form – though at least he was wearing clothes – and there was no way to tell if it would work to try and morph without _actually_ trying. And though Zhane would have been happy to test it out normally, he finally thought about what Andros would say in this situation – and knew it would be a bad idea to morph before he knew the whole situation.

Huh. Maybe he was finally starting to grow up.

Feeling his eyes finally beginning to adjust, Zhane started towards the steps, but paused when the floorboards started to creak under his feet. He glanced down, and wondered if he needed to worry about being quiet. The place _seemed_ deserted... but he'd never been someplace like this, so there wasn't any way to tell if there was anyone around.

A door slammed close by, and Zhane jerked his head up.


	3. Strange Encounters

**Darkness Lives**

**Chapter Three: Strange Encounters**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Power Rangers in Space, and I'm not making any money from this fic

**Summary:** While he's frozen, Zhane's spirit detaches itself from his body and enters a haunted house on Earth, where he has to fight for higher stakes than his life

**Warning(s):** Violence; spoilers; some swearing; spanking in later chapters

* * *

Zhane looked at the girl who'd just run through the door next to the sliding screen. She seemed about the same age as him, but was too thin, and there were dirty streaks down her face. She flinched back with a startled squeak as she saw Zhane. "No! Stay back!"

"Whoa... I'm not going to hurt you." Zhane held his hands up, wondering how she was able to see him if his soul had gone travelling out of his body. "Is this your house? I... I'm not really sure how I got here."

"You shouldn't be here! No one's supposed to be here! Get out!"

"Okay..." Zhane took a step back, wondering how he'd ended up in the house of a strange person who could apparently see him – though maybe everyone could; and if he'd managed to get Andros's attention, his friend would have been able to hear him as well. Of course, he now couldn't test out that theory.

Maybe if he left the house, he'd find himself back in the astro megaship. Maybe back in the cryogenic chamber, but that couldn't be helped. Not taking his eyes off of the crazy girl, Zhane backed to the door, and reached for the handle – but despite twisting it every which way, he found it impossible to open. "Do you have a key?" he asked finally.

The girl eyed him for a few moments, as if she didn't believe him. Then, she stepped over and tried the door handle as well, stepping back and biting her lip. "They won't let you leave."

Zhane backed off as she approached him, but didn't relax. "Who won't let me leave?"

"The ghosts."

"I don't believe in ghosts." The comment slipped out before Zhane could stop it. It was probably a bad idea to antagonise a girl who seemed emotionally unstable, and was definitely delusional. But he was pretty sure nothing could really happen to him. After all, his body was safe enough in the cryogenic chamber.

"Stick around here long enough and you'll quickly change your mind." The girl looked at him, and then quickly away again. "You really shouldn't be here. If you stay, they'll kill you too."


	4. Doubts and Introductions

**Darkness Lives**

**Chapter Four: Doubts and Introductions**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Power Rangers in Space, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Oh, and much of the interior of the house comes from the game Fatal Frame/Project Zero; and the house's history comes from various horror films and the like – so don't own anything from The Grudge, Ringu, or any other horror film that might come into play

**Summary:** While he's frozen, Zhane's spirit detaches itself from his body and enters a haunted house on Earth, where he has to fight for higher stakes than his life

**Warning(s):** Violence; spoilers; some swearing; spanking in later chapters

* * *

"I'm not going to die," Zhane replied. "Why? Do you kill people who come into this house?" He should be scared, but he wasn't. He was feeling an eerie sense of calm. Maybe it came from having a pretty good idea that he wasn't likely to die.

"The spirits in this house kill the people who come here. Don't know why they've left me alive... Sometimes I wonder if I'm actually dead, and if I just think I'm alive."

Zhane still didn't believe that there were ghosts in this house, but he had to react to the obvious fear in the girl's voice. "You're not going through anything, so I'm sure you're not a ghost." Of course, he wasn't walking through anything either, and he was supposed to be astral projecting or something. Or maybe he really was dead, and this was the afterlife.

The girl glanced at him. "You don't believe me."

Zhane chose his words carefully, unwilling to upset this unstable girl even further. "I believe that you believe there are ghosts here. If there's danger, I'll get through it."

"What makes you think you're so special?"

Zhane had to remind himself that his identity as a Power Ranger was supposed to remain a closely guarded secret; and besides, he had no idea where he was. This girl probably hadn't even heard of the Power Rangers. "Doesn't matter. I'm kinda used to no-win situations." Of course, his last no-win situation had landed him frozen, and his spirit now separated from his body.

Huh. Maybe that was what made him special right now.

"This isn't a situation where you can win or lose. It's a situation where you _die_."

"Or become crazy," Zhane muttered, too quietly for the girl to hear. "So do you have a name?" he asked.

For a moment, the girl looked like she wasn't going to answer at all. Then, finally, she spoke. "My name's Katra."

"I'm Zhane." The silver ranger would have offered his hand, but he wasn't sure if Katra would bite it or scream. To be honest, it looked like she'd be willing to do either. Zhane figured he'd better watch his step around her, just as he would around a wild or rabid animal.

"Well, Zhane, you're going to be sorry you can't get out of here."

Zhane started to ask Katra for further information; but then the sound of a child's laughter drew his attention to the corner of the room.


	5. Agree to Disagree

**Darkness Lives**

**Chapter Five: Agree to Disagree**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Power Rangers in Space, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Oh, and much of the interior of the house comes from the game Fatal Frame/Project Zero; and the house's history comes from various horror films and the like – so don't own anything from The Grudge, Ringu, or any other horror film that might come into play

**Summary:** While he's frozen, Zhane's spirit detaches itself from his body and enters a haunted house on Earth, where he has to fight for higher stakes than his life

**Warning(s):** Violence; spoilers; some swearing; spanking in later chapters

* * *

Zhane was a little hesitant to take his eyes off of Katra – not trusting her not to try and attack him – but he still glanced towards the corner of the room. He frowned, seeing that there was nothing there, and wondered if Katra's madness was somehow spreading to him.

"I know you heard that too," Katra said when Zhane looked back at her. "I'm really not crazy."

"Right... Of course you're not." Zhane smiled, knowing that it was better to humour the girl, since she could possibly be dangerous. Until he could find his way back to the astro megaship, she might be the only ally he had.

"Don't patronise me!" Katra snapped. "You think I'm insane... the others did as well. That's why they all died!"

Zhane lost his smile, and studied the girl's face. Whether he thought she was insane or not, she clearly thought that there was danger here. And even if there weren't the ghosts she claimed, danger could easily come from another source. What if there were monsters here? "If you're telling me that there's danger here, I'll believe you. We might disagree on what kind of danger it is – but I'll trust your judgment. Why can't I leave? Is the door locked?"

Katra shook her head slowly. "No... It's held by a supernatural force. Now that you're inside, even death won't be able to free you from this house."

"Pleasant thought," Zhane muttered. He glanced towards the door that Katra had come through. "So why are you still alive?"

"Maybe they're saving something special for me."

Zhane turned back to Katra. "How big is this house?"

"It's a mansion. I've been wandering everywhere I can get to so I can find a way out, and I haven't been everywhere yet. It seems to be much bigger on the inside than what you can see on the outside."

Zhane bit his lip against his automatic response that he hadn't seen the outside. He didn't want to go into those details with Katra – at least not yet. "Do you have paper and pens? Can you draw me a map?" Of course, he wouldn't be able to make out many details if the whole of the house was this dark... but he'd work that out when he came to it.

Katra shook her head. "You can't go further in on your own."

"I don't have a choice. I can't just stand around here and wait to be rescued." Chances were good that Andros wouldn't even realise there was something wrong. Zhane was going to have to get himself out of this. "I'm not asking you to come with me," he added.

"I don't want to go back in there, but... you don't know what's there, and I do. If you insist on this, I don't have a choice other than to go with you." Katra took a deep, almost shuddering breath.

"Well, tell me you at least have a flashlight of some kind."


	6. First Sighting

**Darkness Lives**

**Chapter Six: First Sighting**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Power Rangers in Space, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Oh, and much of the interior of the house comes from the game Fatal Frame/Project Zero; and the house's history comes from various horror films and the like – so don't own anything from The Grudge, Ringu, or any other horror film that might come into play

**Summary:** While he's frozen, Zhane's spirit detaches itself from his body and enters a haunted house on Earth, where he has to fight for higher stakes than his life

**Warning(s):** Violence; spoilers; some swearing; spanking in later chapters

* * *

Zhane wanted to refuse Katra's offer of help, but he realised that she probably had the only information that could help him. He recognised that stubborn look on her face – he'd seen it so often on his best friend's. Trying to talk her out of coming with him would just waste possibly valuable time; and at least this way, she might see that she was wrong about there being ghosts in the house.

So Zhane said nothing, and waited for Katra to answer his question.

Katra shook her head. "Some of the people who came to this house had flashlights. I don't know what happened to them. Maybe they dropped them somewhere... I just know I haven't seen them." She looked up at Zhane. "Before we go anywhere... you need to know that this house is probably cursed. Just by being here, you've probably sentenced yourself to death."

"If you're so sure we'll die, why do you want to go further in with me?" Zhane asked. "It's probably reasonably safe here, so you may as well wait for me. Be safe."

Katra shook her head. "It might be safer here than other parts of the house, but it's not totally safe. Attacks have still been made by them here in the hallway. And I don't want to just stand around waiting for them to kill me. I haven't found the centre of the curse yet... maybe I need help."

Zhane looked at the door Katra had come through. "Is that the way?" Not waiting for a reply from her, he moved up the steps, a part of him aware that she was following. As he reached out to open the door, his morpher was a solid, comforting weight on his wrist; and he wondered again if he should try to morph into his silver ranger form.

"Just be careful," Katra muttered from behind him.

Zhane said nothing as he stepped into the darker hallway. Something brushed against his face, and he jerked back a little. When he reached out, his fingers brushed what felt like a rope hanging down. As his eyes adjusted even more, he could see five ropes hanging from the ceiling. He wasn't sure, but he thought he could see dark stains on them. "Is that blood?"

"I have no idea."

Zhane squinted as he thought he saw figures at the end of the hallway; but when he moved closer, he realised it was merely a very big mirror. He reached out to touch the glass, and then jerked back as a woman with long black hair appeared in it.


	7. Inner Frustrations

**Darkness Lives**

**Chapter Seven: Inner Frustrations**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Power Rangers in Space, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Oh, and much of the interior of the house comes from the game Fatal Frame/Project Zero; and the house's history comes from various horror films and the like – so don't own anything from The Grudge, Ringu, or any other horror film that might come into play

**Summary:** While he's frozen, Zhane's spirit detaches itself from his body and enters a haunted house on Earth, where he has to fight for higher stakes than his life

**Warning(s):** Violence; spoilers; some swearing; spanking in later chapters

* * *

"Do you believe me now?"

The woman had only been inside the mirror for a second, but Zhane's heart was still pounding. He truly hadn't expected to see a ghost at all; and now that he had seen one, he had no idea what to do next. It wasn't like any of his training had prepared him for the fact that ghosts existed; and he didn't even have his best friend along to watch his back. "I'd rather you didn't say, 'I told you so'."

"I wasn't going to."

Zhane found himself faltering a little. But as tempting as it was to run away and hide, he'd never run from any kind of fight before; and he wasn't about to start now. "I guess I have to go about things a little differently now. Is that woman the only ghost here?"

Katra shook her head. "There's the original ghosts – I guess of the people who used to live here – and they're joined by the ghosts of the people who have been killed since here. I guess all of the spirits are trapped, and then there's something that's making them violent."

Zhane said nothing – but he would have much preferred to have Andros there with him. Of course, his friend would have then been trapped in the house as well; so perhaps wishing for the red ranger wasn't the best idea. Maybe it would be possible to enter the astro megaship as a spirit if he fell asleep... but falling asleep would mean letting down his guard; and he wasn't prepared to do that.

"I couldn't tell you how many ghosts they are here – but some of them are more harmful, while others seem to be almost helpful... or at least benign. It's like the ghosts are split into two parts – good and evil; light and dark."

"I've never heard of anything about ghosts being split in two." Zhane frowned, not taking his eyes off of the mirror. "But I've seen people with broken souls before... maybe this is something similar." But broken souls wasn't something he'd ever made an attempt to heal. Perhaps Andros... but then again, he wouldn't be able to speak to his friend to find anything out from him anyway.

"But if that's going to be possible, we need to find the centre of the curse," Katra said. "Which we can't do just standing around here doing nothing."

"You're right." Zhane walked past the mirror, and opened the door to the right of it.


	8. Tracing Footsteps

**Darkness Lives**

**Chapter Eight: Tracing Footsteps**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Power Rangers in Space, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Oh, and much of the interior of the house comes from the game Fatal Frame/Project Zero; and the house's history comes from various horror films and the like – so don't own anything from The Grudge, Ringu, or any other horror film that might come into play

**Summary:** While he's frozen, Zhane's spirit detaches itself from his body and enters a haunted house on Earth, where he has to fight for higher stakes than his life

**Warning(s):** Violence; spoilers; some swearing; spanking in later chapters; horror themes

* * *

"You're standing too close," Zhane muttered as he opened the door.

"Sorry." Katra didn't move, though. "I can't help being scared, though. You've only been here for a few minutes. Imagine being here for... well, I don't even _know_ how long I've been here for. Time seems to stand still in this place."

"I'll protect you – but you've gotta give me room to breathe." Zhane glanced back over his shoulder. "If you want to make sure I know you're still here, just keep talking or something. Why don't you tell me about your family," he added, stepping into the dark room and noticing that there was what appeared to be a big cauldron in the middle of the room. "Now that's weird."

"It looks like there's been something burning there not too long ago – but I have no idea how much time has passed here."

Zhane leaned over, but was careful not to dislodge anything. He glanced up to see that Katra was still standing next to the door, hands clasped nervously in front of her. "You could come up with a happy medium, you know. If you stand all the way over there, how am I supposed to protect you?"

Katra stepped over to stand a bit closer to Zhane, and opened her mouth – but then fell silent as there were footsteps coming from the floor above them. She cast Zhane a fearful look, and he stepped over to the stairs in time to see a tall, dark-haired man walking up them. "I think it's one of the harmless ghosts," he said, trying to keep his tone calm and even.

"I think the harmless ghosts are the ghosts who aren't in the same house as us," Katra muttered.

"I'm going to take a look upstairs. You can come with me, or you can stay here... but it'll be better if you come with me. If the ghosts are as dangerous as you say, we really shouldn't split up."

"I don't think it makes much of a difference." Katra followed Zhane to the stairs. "Is it wise to go the same way a ghost did?"

"I don't want to wait around for them to come to us. It would be better to see what we can learn on our own terms; before we run out of time." Zhane looked at her. "Just keep talking while I look, so I know nothing's happening."


	9. A Learning Experience

**Darkness Lives**

**Chapter Nine: A Learning Experience**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Power Rangers in Space, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Oh, and much of the interior of the house comes from the game Fatal Frame/Project Zero; and the house's history comes from various horror films and the like – so don't own anything from The Grudge, Ringu, or any other horror film that might come into play

**Summary:** While he's frozen, Zhane's spirit detaches itself from his body and enters a haunted house on Earth, where he has to fight for higher stakes than his life

**Warning(s):** Violence; spoilers; some swearing; spanking in later chapters; horror themes

* * *

"I didn't really know my parents. They gave me up to other members of my family when I was six years old."

Zhane glanced over his shoulder at Katra. "Was that normal?"

"I guess... I didn't really know any different. I was only six, so I don't have many memories of my parents." Katra tilted her head slightly to one side. "What about your family? Where are they now?"

"They're..." Zhane bit his lip just as he was about to tell Katra that his parents were on KO-35. She was stuck in a haunted house, but that didn't mean she was going to start believing that there were humans on other planets. Besides, if he kept the conversation normal, it might help take their minds off what was happening – at least a little. "My parents are a long way away. I had to leave them to help a friend, but I'm sure I'll see them again..." Of course, he had to wake up first.

Had Andros contacted his parents? And if so, what had the red ranger said to him?

"With luck, I'm sure we'll find the source of the curse on this house and defeat it; and then you can go back home."

Zhane snorted softly. "I know you don't really believe that... but thanks for pretending you do." He stopped outside a door, reached out, and put his hand on the handle. Then, feeling something soft wrapped around it, he pulled his hand back.

"What?" Katra asked.

"I don't know. It... feels like hair or something." Zhane shuddered, wiping his hand on his trousers. "That was gross."

"Given what we've been seeing so far, hair wrapped around a door handle probably isn't the worst." Katra stepped over, but didn't touch the hair. "So it was kind of a waste of time to come here, then?"

"Not really. If this door is blocked off, it could mean there's something important behind it." Zhane glanced down the corridor, but could only see another sliding screen and not much else. "We could go downstairs now; see if there's any place we can get to."

"See what I mean? Wasted journey. We should have just done that to begin with."

"I know I told you to keep talking, but if you're just gonna be a pessimist, don't bother." Zhane headed back down the stairs, hearing Katra following him. "I thought you were supposed to be a guide anyway."

"There's a door under the stairs," Katra said, sounding a little doubtful. "We could try going through that."

"That's a start, at least." As Zhane got to the foot of the stairs, he heard the sound of someone screaming.


	10. First Battle

**Darkness Lives**

**Chapter Ten: First Battle**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Power Rangers in Space, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Oh, and much of the interior of the house comes from the game Fatal Frame/Project Zero; and the house's history comes from various horror films and the like – so don't own anything from The Grudge, Ringu, or any other horror film that might come into play

**Summary:** While he's frozen, Zhane's spirit detaches itself from his body and enters a haunted house on Earth, where he has to fight for higher stakes than his life

**Warning(s):** Violence; spoilers; some swearing; spanking in later chapters; horror themes

* * *

Katra grabbed onto Zhane's arm, and he didn't immediately shake her off. "Stay behind me," he said when he pulled his arm free. He didn't take his eyes off the air in front of him, feeling his heart pounding. He might be a Power Ranger, but this was so far outside the realm of his experience that he found he was – for one of the first times in his life – actually scared.

Looked like he was going to find out sooner than he'd thought about whether morphing would work or not.

The spectral figure of a woman appeared right in front of Zhane. The silver ranger shoved Katra back out of the way. "Stay out of this!" His fingers went immediately to the morpher on his wrist. "Let's rocket!"

It was with some relief that Zhane felt the familiar tingle as his ranger suit enveloped his body; but when he looked down, he was wearing a black ranger suit instead of his usual silver one. He was only given a moment to register that, though, as the ghost attacked him immediately.

"Okay... Let's see what this suit can do," Zhane muttered, fighting back – and was gratified when he managed to hit the spirit a glancing blow in the stomach. Without looking, he grabbed at his waist, finding a blaster there. He pulled it out, and shot the spirit, causing it to finally dissipate; but Zhane still had the feeling that the ghost had only been temporarily defeated.

When Zhane turned back to Katra, the girl stumbled back a few paces, hands raised as if to ward him off. "W...What are you?"

Zhane powered down, and gave a frown. "I'm a Power Ranger." She didn't know about Power Rangers? As far as he knew, he was on Earth... and he'd always thought that Earthlings knew about Power Rangers. But maybe they weren't as well-known as he'd always thought.

Katra shook her head, still staring at him as if he was no worse than the spirit who had just attacked. "It was like you were a ghost as well."

That was so close to the truth that Zhane's automatic denial died on his lips. He took a deep breath, and finally decided on a partial truth. "I'm not dead."

"How do I know you're not just saying that?"

"You don't. But the way I see it, you don't have a whole lot of options here. I don't know how you managed to survive this long, but you have to know it won't last. I'm the best chance you have to make it out of here alive."

Katra continued to stare at him. Then, finally, she made an awkward, half-jerky nod; and turned to the door set under the stairs. "Whatever you did... you managed to banish that spirit."

"Temporarily. I have no doubt that it'll come back. Maybe the only way to put the spirits here to rest is to break the curse on this house." Zhane glanced at Katra, relieved to see that she no longer seemed to be scared of him. "Ready?"

"No. But you might as well open the door anyway."

Zhane opened the door in time to see a man disappearing down the corridor it opened into.


End file.
